botssfandomcom-20200213-history
The Pinball Arcade
Background The Pinball Arcade is a simulator/compilation package that was released for multiple gaming platforms in 2012. Originally it just included four simulated pinball games based off of real coin-operated pinball machines (which were officially licensed) on the iOS version of the release, although this would later change and allow players to download demos of over two dozen pinball games for free, although after a certain score threshold was reached during a game then it would end. However, players also had the option to buy unlimited versions of the games to download (ranging from US $.99 to $4.99 for two games). This package and how additional tables became available differed through platform, however. Fifty pinball games were originally planned to be made available eventually; however, as of late 2018, 93 were currently available on the iOS platform. It is unknown how many more tables are planned to be made. Two machines, Attack from Mars and Junk Yard, had a bottom of the screen shooter mini-game included. Unlocking the Video Mode mini-game (Attack from Mars) The Stroke of Luck Award on the playfield is automatically lit with the start of every game. The Super Jets must be activated first via hitting the bumpers at the top right of the playfield 100 times by the ball. The player must then shoot the ball into the front of the Scoop at the top right of the playfield (below the bumpers) while the Stroke of Luck is lit to access the Video Mode. (If the Stroke of Luck becomes unlit, the inlanes next to the flippers can be relit by having the ball roll down the lanes, relighting the Stroke of Luck that way.) Gameplay The player controls a ship at the bottom middle of the screen that continually fires at Flying Saucers that descend from the top of the screen. If a Saucer lands on the ground or on the player's ship then Video Mode ends. Once 30 regular Saucers have been destroyed, a Saucer with an EB in its center will appear; if the player is able to destroy it, this will earn them an extra ball. The Ball Launcher button from the Attack from Mars game will deploy a smart bomb that will destroy all onscreen Saucers, which can only be used once during Video Mode. If the player is able to destroy 40-50 Saucers, a Mothership will appear. If the player is able to shoot it 80 times, it will be destroyed and Video Mode will then end. Additional Mode Occasionally when the player scores either a Big-O-Beam (by shooting the left ramp with a ball) or a Tractor Beam (right ramp) on Attack from Mars, a cow will appear on the video display. When this happens, if the player presses the Ball Launcher button several times, hears cows mooing, and then activates the Video Mode, the Saucers will be replaced by cows once Video Mode starts, and the Mothership will be replaced by an even larger cow. Controls *Turn ship–flipper buttons (left/right) *Smart bomb–Ball Launcher button Scoring Flying Saucer/Cow–3,000,000 points (JunkYard) When a ball is launched on the pinball game and goes through the spinner, a menu will appear on the video screen; if the spinner stops spinning and lands on Lite Time on the menu, this readies the Time Machine mode. The player must also collect the Cuckoo Clock (via one of several ways) and then shoot the ball into the Sewer, which activates the Time Machine. Several dates will appear on the video screen; if the Time Machine stops at the 10-31-95 date, the Saucer Attack Video Mode mini-game will then start. Gameplay The player controls a ship at the bottom middle of the screen that continually fires at Flying Saucers that descend from the top of the screen. If a Saucer lands on the ground or on the player's ship then the game ends. If a Saucer with an EB in its center appears and if the player is able to destroy it, this will earn them an extra ball. Controls Turn ship–flipper buttons (left/right) Scoring Flying Saucer–50,000 points Other available games As of 2018, the following other pinball games are also available on The Pinball Arcade (not counting discontinued tables; see Trivia section below): *''Al’s Garage Band Goes on a World Tour'' *''Bandai Run'' *''Big Shot'' *''Black Hole'' *''Black Knight'' *''Black Knight 2000'' *''Black Rose'' *''Bone Busters'' *''Bram Stoker's Dracula'' *''Bride of Pin-Bot'' *''Cactus Canyon'' *''Cactus Jack's'' *''Centaur'' *''Centigrade 37'' *''Central Park'' *''Cirqus Voltaire'' *''Class of 1812'' *''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' *''Cue Ball Wizard'' *''Cyclone'' *''Diner'' *''Doctor Who'' *''Doctor Who Master of Time'' *''Dr. Dude'' *''Earthshaker'' *''Eight Ball Deluxe'' *''El Dorado'' *''El Dorado: City of Gold'' *''Elvira and the Party Monsters'' *''Firepower'' *''Fish Tales'' *''Flight 2000'' *''Funhouse'' *''Genie'' *''Gorgar'' *''Harley-Davidson Third Edition'' *''Haunted House'' *''High-Speed'' *''Jack*Bot'' *''Medieval Madness'' *''Monster Bash'' *''No Good Gofers'' *''Party Zone'' *''Pin*Bot'' *''Red & Ted’s Road Show'' *''Ripley’s Believe It or Not'' *''Scared Stiff'' *''Space Shuttle'' *''Star Trek the Next Generation'' *''Starship Troopers'' *''Taxi'' *''Tee’d Off'' *''Terminator 2'' *''The Addams Family'' *''The Champion Pub'' *''The Phantom of the Opera'' *''Theatre of Magic'' *''Twilight Zone'' *''Victory'' *''Whirlwind'' *''White Water'' *''WHO dunnit'' *''Xenon'' Trivia *On Junk Yard when the Time Machine is activated and Saucer Attack Video Mode is about to start, the date of October 31, 1995 is when Attack from Mars was released, which included the original Video Mode mini-game. *The original Video Mode also included a Mothership, a smart bomb that would destroy all onscreen Saucers when activated, and a different mode that could be unlocked that would replace all Saucers with cows. These were all left out of the Saucer Attack Video Mode version of the game on Junk Yard, along with the Saucers being worth far less score-wise. *Video Mode was re-released on multiple platforms in 2013 when the Attack from Mars table was made available for the package, then again in 2014 when the Junk Yard table was made available (although renamed to Saucer Attack Video Mode). *The licenses to tables manufactured by Bally (Centaur, Doctor Who, Safe Cracker) and Williams (Banzai Run, Cyclone, Jackbot) were actually only temporary, although those tables were available for several years. Their availability ended on July 1, 2018. *Tables of the Month would allow players to play a table without a score threshold if the player did not own that particular table. Needs more info on other platforms Category: Pinball BOTSS Category: Android BOTSS Category: iOS BOTSS Category: Kindle Fire BOTSS Category: OS X BOTSS Category: Ouya BOTSS Category: PC BOTSS Category: PlayStation 3 BOTSS Category: PlayStation 4 BOTSS Category: PlayStation Vita BOTSS Category: Xbox 360 BOTSS